Satellite clues could still be consistent with new plane search area: Malaysia

March 28, 2014|Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The moving of the location where investigators believe a missing Malaysian jetliner crashed into the Indian Ocean could still be consistent with potential debris spotted in satellite images, Malaysia's acting transport minister said on Friday.

Ships and aircraft scouring the remote waters off western Australia were re-directed on Friday to a new area 1,100 km (685 miles) north of where they have been searching for more than a week for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said new analysis of data on the plane's flight path indicated it had traveled faster, and therefore would have used more fuel, than had been previously thought.

"The Australian authorities have indicated that they have shifted the search area approximately 1,100 kilometers to the northeast," he told a news conference.

"Because of ocean drift, this new search area could still be consistent with the potential objects identified by various satellite images over the past week. This work is on-going, and we can expect further refinements."